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Darby is not eating all of his food

I cannot remember if the same applies to a puppy as an adult that they
will eat when they are hungry.

My little darling Darby for the last 3 to 4 days has only eaten about half
the amount of food that he is suppossed to.

Is this okay, or should I be worried about it.
Of course the other night I went out and left him with my husband who
was suppossed to be watching him and he scoffed Dudleys food.
His belly was bulging the little rascal, I figured he was to full but he is
only picking at his food.

I have been feeding him Innova Puppy food, when I brought him home
he was eating the food which was being made into a paste.
My Vet informed me that he should have no trouble eating puppy kibble
and he needs the nutrients in puppy food.

What do you guys think, am I over-reacting.
He definetely is not lethargic (sp) by any means.

Daisy Boo is the same and so is Tedbear as far as I know. Maybe it's a ruby thing?? When Daisy Boo was younger she would often go a couple of days on very low rations just out of fussiness. She has improved but I still have to vary it quite a bit. Some days however, she will surprise you and run to the food corner looking for seconds

Is he drinking OK? if he is then I wouldn't worry to much, I only get concerned if they totally stop eating, don't drink and are very tired/grumpy, then I watch like a hawk just incase.

Have you any secret little feeders in the house that could be filling his tummy up?

Can't see why you would have problems with tiny puppy kibble, but remember that puppy's and dogs pick up on your feelings, don't over worry, try a little kibble if you want but dont swap and change trying to get him to eat or you could end up with a very fussy little eater.

Been there, got the T-shirt and learnt the very hard way regarding feeding!

Is he drinking OK? if he is then I wouldn't worry to much, I only get concerned if they totally stop eating, don't drink and are very tired/grumpy, then I watch like a hawk just incase.

Have you any secret little feeders in the house that could be filling his tummy up?

Can't see why you would have problems with tiny puppy kibble, but remember that puppy's and dogs pick up on your feelings, don't over worry, try a little kibble if you want but dont swap and change trying to get him to eat or you could end up with a very fussy little eater.

Been there, got the T-shirt and learnt the very hard way regarding feeding!

Alison, Wilts, UK

Allison

I also have a very very fussy eater in Dudley and I am not going down that road with this one. Although I don't own the T-shirt I am still having problems with Dudley.

The Guardian was Free Feeding, I have never done this.

He is drinking fine, nope nobody including Frank is sneaking him anything
I am keeping a very close eye on that one believe me.

I have already switched him to the kibble, as when I brought him home
he went to the Vet the very next day and she said it was not necessary to
soften his food he seemed to enjoy it.

I will just leave him alone and pay no mind for a few days and watch him, although Allison he would devour Dudleys food.

I don't want to start giving into him, like I did with Dudley I was just worried that he may not be getting enough nutrition.

He has not even been given any fruit yet either, not sure of what age to
start that at I was thinking of talking to the Vet on our next visit.
I feel if I fill him with fruit and veggies he will not eat his food at all, I
wanted to wait until he is old enough to be switched to Adult Food.

The only other thing he gets is a couple of Charlee Bears with the Fish Oil for his coat.
They are tiny little things that I crush up and pour the Fish Oil on.

Allison: My breeder just emailed me and said she did not see a problem
adding a bit of Dudley's food to it. As long as he does not get
the runs. I did and he scoffed the lot.
Monica's food does have rice in it so that should help.
Funny how good it makes you feel, when your babies eat.
Now if I could just get Dudley to eat.

Start him on fruit and veg now; a mixed and balanced diet is good for him and what he eats as a pup, he will be more likely to eat as an adult.

Puppies are like kids; they will eat when they want. As Alison says don;t get worried unless he stops eating. He CAN sense your anxiety around food though and it is very important not to turn meals into anything associatred with you being anxious which will in turn make him anxious. Also no encouraging him to eat, etc. Just put the food down, and 15 min later take it up. No comments, no big deal made over whether he eats or not.

Puppies don't really need kibble softened after they are eating solid food easily -- after all you will know from puppy nips just how sharp their teeth are and how hard their jaws can bite! They have no trouble with kibble. By around 4 months he will get less interested in three meals. If he is mostly ignoring his third meal of the day I'd just drop it and switch him to two. Jaspar lost interest in a third meal at about 4 months. As in the US you get puppies much later than we get them here (average is 8 weeks over here) I am guessing Darby is probably around 4 months.

I post Laura Lang's feeding page all the time but it is really your best reference point and should answer all your questions on feeding. She addresses feeding puppies about a third of the way down the page.

King is sometimes that way (he's 1.5yr) some days he eats all his food, but other days he leaves 1/4-1/2....but i never freak....cuz he has his moods...plus sometimes he eats all his food and wants more....every dog i think is different dependin on their activity/age

Linda
it might be that after he got at Dudley's food the first time, from then on, it was all over for the regular food. Dudley's food is home made and flavorful in a way regular dog food isn't--Dudley's just getting Monca's food, right? So that has been my hypothesis in reading this thread--it certainly didn't surprise me when you found that he would happily eat Dudley's food any time, assuming it's from Monica.

i was thinking this way because with Zack, after he got used to home made chicken and rice, he gradually stopped eating everything else i gave him. He would eat some of it but i was throwing most of it away. He acted like it was awful, always looked disappointed when he sniffed it, when i put it down.

I've followed Karlin's advice and stopped giving home made, and stopped giving treats, and just choosing one food that i want to give him, putting it in his bowl and if he eats it, good, if not, don't show him any worry about it. But i do have some concern about him getting all the nutrients he needs, he is in a stage of life of growth and activity, and i assume he needs all kinds of nutrients. But i'm sticking with the system and it seems he does eat enough quantity per day. but i leave the food down. If i picked it up after 15 minutes, i think that for a couple of days he might not get much to eat, but then he would start eating it.

My thinking on this has been helped somewhat by reading about i thnk it's called the prey model. Whatever it's called, Karlin mentioned what i'm thinking of which is that dogs are naturally suited to going days without eating and then filling themselves, in the wild anyway. The important thing is that when they do eat, the food is nutritious. Reading about this has reassured me some about it being ok if zack doesn't eat.
But if Zack were 10 weeks, i would worry much more, whether that worry is well founded or not.

i do go along wiht what Alison says, if he's drinking and playful and active, i would not worry so much, and also, if he's not getting too thin, that would be something to go by in judging whether there's any reason for worry.

I am definetely not going down Blueberry Hill with Darby in regards to
feeding problems.

Nicki: Franks hands are strapped very tightly behind his back, he has
been warned and he gets no peace when he eats his dinner.
Only his own doing, so I think he is learning.
Slowly but Surely I am getting through to him.

Judy: You are absolutely right, and who did that my husband.
Not intentionally though the little rascal is quick. Like Karlin
said when they are quiet they are up to something no good.
I really want him to get the nutrients in the puppy food and from
the feedback I don't feel so bad about adding a little bit of flavour
to his food providing he eats it and this he does.
He just devoured the entire bowl, if not Monica's food a little Veg
and fruit. I like the fact that her food has rice in it, and my breeder
is fine with this so that is re-assuring. She actually met Monica
and thinks highly of her.
He is only 10 weeks old, so I want him to eat the puppy food and
by adding a tablespoon or two I can be assured that he will eat. :
In regards to Sir Dudley, he is a completely different story.
Dudley is my husbands dog, any wonder why he doesn't eat.
Just like naughty naughty Trevor, they both think alike why
can't he have it. But after endless hours I think I may have
cracked my husband.
I bought all flavours of Monica's food, Chicken, Meatloaf, Liver and
Fish. Sir Dudley only likes the Chicken so far, he will hold out
for almost 4 days without eating. I have tried about every High
Quality food and he is still fussy, I no longer worry or make a
fuss. I was feeding Dudley Natures Variety Medallions and the
Raw based kibble but he does not like it at all. I cannot picture
myself having to eat something that I don't like, I know he likes
Monica's chicken so even if he chooses to hold out he can go
right ahead. In the past I have given him kibble but Dudley seems
prone to having a reaction to Wheat.
I have a container of chicken out of this evening so we will see
if he eats if he doesn't he will tommorow.
I also add a bit of kibble to his food too.

Kingofthehouse

I used to get very upset when Dudley did not eat, not anymore
I just lift it and put it away.
He had me wrapped tighter that a spool of thread. No more.